Art & Inspiration Sitting and Rotting.............picture thread

It sure did to me! Damn, what a shame...

 

Two wrongs never make a right.

 

Like I said, I don't advocate this type of action!
Trust me, I don't like people just stealing stuff either! My wife and I tried to buy an abandoned farmstead with a beautiful brick farm house full of antiques from a friend of her Grandmothers. The woman who owned it had ended up in a nursing home. Before we could make a deal on the property, it was ransacked of all the antiques, and the house burnt to the ground! We actually saw a cube van backed up to the door hauling stuff out. We thought it was her family, and found out later it wasn't. We then passed on the property, because we had wanted it for the house as much as the land. What was left of the outbuildings and their contents (including a couple old cars, car parts, and vintage farm machinery) was pushed into big piles and hauled off for scrap.
It would be sad for this car to end up like so many others pictured on this thread. It's not just some old stripped out 4 door laying along a river bank.
Let's end the drama.....back to the pictures!

 

PULLED OUT, THIS ONE WILL BE SAVED

 

Heeeeeeey I know that car I bought it in 2014 and im currently restoring it anymore pics?

 

No but 3 lefts do....

 

Not trying to create drama or belabor the point, just some clarification. You originally stated, and I'm paraphrasing here, that you don't advocate thievery but that the car deserves saving, even through thievery. That sounds like there is an exception to not advocating thievery. Your recent statements above seem to support that exception. My point, and I think Old Wolf's, too, is that taking something that doesn't belong to you is wrong. It doesn't matter whether it is a stripped out, 4 door laying along a river bank or a desirable car in a dilapidated building. No exceptions. It's a shame what happened to the friend of your wife's grandmother, but that just proves my point. Those thieving bastards deprived the woman who owned the house of her rightful property and possessions as well as deprived you and your wife of the opportunity to purchase the property. Many years ago there was a guy in my area who had a backyard full of '32 Fords. There was any kind of model you cud think of in there and nothing was being done with any of them. Many of us tried on multiple occasions to make more than reasonable offers, but the guy wudn't sell. The guy got so fed up with people wanting to buy one of his deuces that he started greeting people with the wrong end of a shotgun. None of us were able to buy any and I'm sure, with the wonderful East Coast weather, that all of them have disintegrated into the ground by now. What a perfect waste of an iconic model, but no matter how much it pained us to see that happen, it was his property to dispose of as he saw fit. Now, back to the pictures! Oh, speaking of pictures, I also want to clarify that I'm not one of those who might see your '40 as ruined. In fact, I think it's awesome and wud like to see more of it. I'd urge you to post some pix of it in another thread and let us know where we can see them.

 

three lefts just run you around in a circle.

 

Nice find! Looks like you have your work cut out for you, but definitely worth it! Any pics of where it had been sitting?

 

O.K....Theft was never in the plan...here`s what HAS been done to rescue the poor `Bird. (1) knocked on the door on several occasions ,only to be ignored (2) Sent registered and certified letters to the owner. Came back as un-deliverable. (3) Spoke w/ neighbors...They really wish the garage and it`s contents would go away. I should mention that the car/garage/house are in a rather fashionable part of town and on some of the most expensive real estate in west Michigan. ( Reeds Lake , East Grand Rapids) Any ideas/thoughts/suggestions ??

 

Ideas?
Find next of kin to the couple that owns the car.
Express your interest and work on establishing a friendly relationship. Keep in semi regular contact.
Wait for the inevitable to happen and you could be first in line.

 

Back in the 80's, I bought a whole bunch of vw parts and cars from a widow. In one garage was a KG convert, and the widow said it belonged to someone ~80 miles away. Through a title service, I contacted them, and asked about the car. They didn't want it, but couldn't find the title. They said to go to the sec. of states office and apply for a duplicate title, which I did. I later sold the car to someone local, and years later saw it in another garage 60 miles in the opposite direction, still looking like it did the day I sold it.

I'm not saying to trespass, but if you can get an id or license number, it would be a good place to start your search.

 

Don't worry, that car won't be there for long, now that is on the internet.

 

don't worry about it. some one owns it. there are plenty you can buy that are advertised for sale.

 

Well, I'm probably the last guy to offer suggestions, other than what I have already, since I got a 12ga stuck in my face when trying to rescue a Deuce. At least, I think it was a 12ga. It was two large, black holes that I didn't stick around long enough to measure. But, here's a few thots: I like partsdawg's idea, but that cud take some time - maybe more than you have. Although, sometimes it takes time for these things. Yet, let's put a twist on that idea and try to speed it up. You've apparently established some sort of rapport with the neighbors. Find out, if you haven't already, if the owner has any adult children. Go see them, if possible, explain to them that you're not a salesman. You don't want to resell the car, nor do you want to hot rod/race it. You want to restore it to its former elegant beauty for all to see the work of Henry Ford and the local workers, of course (a bit of BS is needed, but you've got to act the part). You've got to seem genuine and sincere. You can't show up in dirty, greasy jeans, but you don't want to look like a Wall St. banker, either. You want to be upper middle-class, i.e., someone with the skills and/or money to get the restoration done and done right like the car truly deserves. You might want to take the wife and child along with you, especially if you're meeting the owner. You're perceived as less of a threat that way and, therefore, more likable. Tell the owner's children that's your intentions toward the car, but the owner won't even see you or read your letters, and ask for their help in getting an audience with the owner. In effect, you let the owner's offspring work on him and do your bidding. You know, soften him up. "Hey, Dad, this guy really wants to make that Tbird beautiful again. You're not getting any younger and you aren't going to do anything with it, so you might as well sell it to him. The longer it sits there, the more it rots and the less value it has. And, if that garage collapses on it, well, there goes its value right out the window. Sell it now before that happens and have money in your pocket." You have an option to sweeten the deal with offering to repair the garage. Of course, you'll have to make that determination based on how badly it's in disrepair and what it'll take to repair it.
Another suggestion is get someone else to put pressure on the owner. If he lives in the high end of town, there is likely a homeowner's/community association with by-laws and covenants relating to property upkeep. You can probably get that info from the neighbors, too. You cud send the association a letter, preferably with pix of the run down garage with the "junk" car in it that is exposed to the world and making the community/neighborhood look bad and devaluing the homes in it. It wud be best if you cud convince the neighbors to send the letter as it seems more legit coming from someone that is being affected by the unsightly, dilapidated garage and "junk" car. Although, you cud say that you are a prospective buyer of a home there. If there is no homeowner's/community association to put pressure on him, maybe the county has ordinances regarding the same. If the owner starts getting fined or faced with the costs of repairing the garage, he may feel it is better to sell the car and have some money to respond to those demands. Good luck! Let us know how things go.

 

I wonder if it would help, if you get to talk with the owner, if you drove up in a restored car. Might help the image?

A few miles from me, there is a first gen Bronco sitting in a field right behind a farmhouse. It's been there as long as I can remember. There is also one of the old tall, glass gas pumps in front of the barn, so I'm thinking that someone that is into cars lives there, but still the Bronco sits in the field. I've been tempted to stop by with my 58 or 63 and as about it.

The Tbird may have been something that the owner and deceased wife/husband shared together, so that's why they hang onto it. My wifes' former husband had junkers sitting in the yard that had belonged to his parents, sitting on blocks or with flat tires. She had a hard time convincing him to dump them (definitely not keepers). I'm wondering if the same isn't true with the Bronco?

Baron...is the car in your avatar the same one in the pic? If it is, you did a great job.

 

Bowtie - I agree with most of what you said. Till the part about dropping a dime on someone.
As a person who doesn't like to get screwed with, I sure wouldn't call any community association or busybody group on another guy. It's a matter of principle IMO. I'll be damned if anyone is going to knock on my door and say what has to be done with my stuff. But I live in the country. Folks in an urban area have enough rules to go by. So do hot rodders. There's plenty of iron actually on the market, no need to leverage someone out of their stuff that isn't for sale. The sitting and rotting thing frustrates the hell out of me, too. But let's be decent to one another.
Peace. And merry Christmas to all my HAMB brothers and sisters.

 

I agree. That is going too far and the idea of siccing the county, HOA, or codes administration on someone whom has ignored all the previous attempts probably does not want to sell the car. Learn to take "no" for the answer.

 

In this day and age whoever owns the old bird knows it has value. They apparently dont want or need money or they would sell the car and house also. Dropping a dime even if you got the city or county to act wouldn't neccssairly put that car on the market. they might move it someplace else. or scrap it. However lots of times it is about money . Sometimes a older person must go into the nursing home. And that is expensive. And to cover the cost the DHS puts a lien on the persons home and property. and nothing can be sold or disposed of until the person passes and the estate is probated.

 

No. Mine was no prize, but light years ahead of that one. Just a picture I found on the Internet.

 

A buddy who scraps junk sent me these, Now sitting at his place ( no clue what we're gonna do with it)

 

What is it? The grille shell resembles a 32 Ford

 

Any imbecile can buy a car....and most of them do.

 

still there.....

 

Looks like a Graham Bros truck

 

Love the patina on that Graham truck!

 

love the patina on that old Graham truck.